NEWPORT BEACH – Three hundred policymakers from more than 80 California cities descended on Newport Beach Friday in a mass show of intrigue directed at drug and alcohol rehabilitation homes.

While lauding addiction treatment, the forum of attorneys, politicians and police called for an alliance to rein in recovery houses that have buffeted neighborhoods from Chula Vista to Eureka, both towns that sent liaisons.

“Money talks up in Sacramento,” Newport Mayor Steve Rosansky said at the Radisson Hotel conference, appealing for a six-figure lobbying effort and a formal coalition to back up new legislation.

On the other side were stakeholders such as Phil Allen of the California Association of Addiction Recovery Resources. Saying the debate has been clouded by “fear” and “confusion,” Allen also called for a coalition, one that would allow ostensibly opposed sides to “work together, instead of having these two camps.”

Officials shared local approaches to regulation, which vary widely. Some have enacted moratoriums; others have loosened rules to avoid running afoul of fair-housing laws.

Statistics from the nonprofit Justice Policy Institute show that licensed treatment homes ballooned after voters passed Proposition 36 in 2000, allowing nonviolent drug offenders a reprieve from prison. That influx has raised hackles, with locals describing loitering, litter and shattered property values. “For some people, their home is their greatest economic asset. People want to protect that asset,” Irvine lawyer Alene Taber said.

At the same time, each dollar spent on treatment saves taxpayers $7, said Joan Robbins of the state Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs.

“Every city needs to deal with” addiction, said Clark Carr, president of Narconon International. “If we can just keep the hyperbole out … there’s hope for real resolution on these issues.”

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